M10 - Homecoming
Nearly a week after the meeting with the warlords and Katsumi, the Aetherians see themselves at a dock where two large ships of Sazanamese-make are awaiting them, along with a Veethfölnir longboat, which Bál had arrived to Sazanami in. From the deck of all three ships, the sailors shout to one another as they load and prepare the two ships for their trip. On Bál’s ship, however, the deck is filled with shouting as well -- but all of those shouts come from Bál himself, who is giving a young, blue pony the scolding of his life. : --AN’ SNEAKIN’ OFF LIKE THAT, WHAT WERE YOU THINKING, PONYBOY? : I just wanted to help, Bál… : Oh, you did, did you? Then, pray tell, where were you durin’ the battle where you could have helped the most?! : I-I… didn’t go to the frontlines because I was intimidated by the Kyogre… I did try to help in other ways though. It’s not like my water attacks would have done a lot on that scary fish anyway. : How does this fix the fact that you left without tellin’ me first? Oh, an’ how ‘bout your lying to Yagami abou’ how you got my permission to be here? What’s your excuse for that, eh? : I’m really sorry, Bál! I really REEEEEEEEEEEEEEALLY am! : Well, well, Bál. (The Dragon calls to the Typhlosion from the air, before he lands onto the deck of Bál’s ship.) Looks like the guy who has tabs on everyone appears to be lacking tabs in his own guild, eh? I wonder if it’s still our fault that Aether got into this mess when Reilly, who you couldn’t manage to keep your eyes on long enough, was the one who dragged us into it. : I’m sorry, mister Gawain! I’m so so SO SORRY! I just wanted to prove myself to the other swords and Bál and all of my other friends, and I thought they’d be proud of me for taking care of a big problem! : (sighing and scratching his shaggy head) That’s all well an’ good, but you still should have talk’d with me abou’ it. : Buuuuuuuuut you were against interfering! You KNEW about Sazanami’s trouble, but you didn’t want to go there! : ‘Cause I was waitin’ for my contact in Sazanami to figure it out. Yagami would have let me know if we were needed, which is wha’ we needed to hear ‘cause, if we showed up out of nowhere, that would have put both our allies an’ enemies on edge. That being said, things turned out better than I expected; when Aether barged in, I was worried everythin’ was over. : S’because Aether isn’t very threatening: the enemy felt at ease knowing the guild left them alone and a bunch of jokers showed up. : Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeey! Why are you here? You’re a member of Tellurian Astasia, you shouldn’t be here! : Don’t burst your lungs shouting at him. Now that the mission is over, he’s got a cell waiting for him in Aether. : On what grounds? : Oh boy, do I ever have a list for you to listen to on the way back! : Well, I hope you enjoy telling him why you want him arrested, ‘cause that’s the closest you’ll get to actually doin’ so. : Excuse me? : You can’t arrest Bon, not here, not on the ocean, not where my boat is makin’ port; none of those places are your land, so you can’t lay a claw on him. : That bein’ the case, do you plan on takin’ my boat back, Bon? Assumin’ you’re fine leavin’ Sazanami with how it is, you’re welcome aboard. : But BÁÁÁÁÁÁÁÁÁÁÁÁÁÁÁÁÁÁÁÁL, why does he have to come with ussssssss? : If you don’t like sharin’ the same boat with him, Reilly, then you’re welcome to travel alongside the boat wit’ your water hooves. : So, you comin’? : There’s nothing more to do here, so I’ll be leaving, yeah. Gotta Chanyuian general to track down and kill anyway, so might as well get on that sooner rather than later. : HEY! BON, OVER HERE! From one of the two Sazanamese boats, Nicholas waves at the group of ‘mons. : I thought you were coming back with us! : Sorry, kid, I don’t have time to babysit anymore and I don’t have a need for your father’s help anymore, so I’m done with you. : Wah? Bon, what are yo-- The prince’s words stop when he sees Bon turn his back to him and begin to talk to Bal. : Where are Juju and the Mantis Crew? : Far as I know, Ju-long will stay a lil’ longer in Sazanami wit’ the Semi no Tamashī, an’ the heirs will be stayin’ wit’ him in their hideout, along wit’ Sara. : Tch, and they didn’t even invite me. Sometimes I wonder if the reason I’m left out so much is because I’m not family or I’m not a bug. With that, Bon walks past the group and towards the hatch that leads to the hold. : Welp, I’m heading below deck, I can’t really stand to look at any of these jokers any longer. Call me if your crew forgets how to sail, I recently learned I’m good at teaching ‘mons how to sail under pressure. : What an absolute f-- : Gawain, I think my dad wants us. : What? I didn’t hear him call or anything. : (turning quick so Gawain doesn’t see the tears beginning to grow) H-he said he wanted us to say goodbye to the warlords with him, let’s go. : I think- : I serious doubt you do think, so I’ll do it for you: your thought said, “Walk off Bál’s ship. Fast.” Down on the docks, Alaric is speaking with Katsumi as well as Sho, Shino, Takeshi, and Hoori, the only warlords whose provinces were close enough to the dock for them to be able to wish fair travels to the Aetherians without being delayed further from their journey back to their province, or had a way to travel back to their provinces quickly. Nicholas (after composing himself) and Gawain join Alaric, and politely greet the warlords. Bál follows them, but does not join in the conversation. Alaric catches Bál’s eye and excuses himself the group to slither over to the Typhlosion. : Is Yagami not going with you? : No, Yagami is going to stay here an’ observe things a little longer, help out where he can, an’ direct the guild members who are here in my place. : To keep an eye on things here, I see. : (sighing) I won’t be seein’ you to Aether City, if that’s what you mean. My destination is elsewhere, so perhaps you’ll have some time to see the situation in Aether yourself before we meet again. Perhaps it’ll put your mind at easy an’ you’ll stop triple guessin’ everythin’ I do. : Where do you plan on going? : There are a few people in Artiphron I need to check on, as well as inform them of wha’ has occurred in Sazanami. : Okay, well, thank you for dodging that question. Would you be willing to answer another in its place? : ‘Pends wha’ the question is. : Who are you meeting with? : My answer is that you should go an’ get a grip on your kingdom an’ its business, then maybe you can start worryin’ abou’ mine. Although it’s clear that Alaric wants to continue the conversation, it’s equally as clear that Bál wants to end it, so, to ensure he has his way, Bál walks away from Alaric and towards Sho. The Hariyama offers the Typhlosion a simple nod and then holds out his hand for the smaller ‘mon, who eagerly grabs Sho’s hand and gives him a firm handshake. A brief exchange between them that was comprised of an invitation to drink tea and a challenge to a sumo match is passed between them before Bál moves to Katsumi and shares some words with her. Alaric pays no attention to the conversation Bál has with Katsumi, nor to the one that he begins to start with Hoori, and makes his way to Gawain and Nicholas. Both turn to the snake, and with a flick of his head towards one of the Sazanamese boats, the three of them make their way to the ship and board it. After finishing his conversations with the present warlords, Bál boards his own ship and calls for his ship to be cast off. Hoori waves enthusiastically at the boats, and Nicholas returns his waves until the little turtle is out of sight. Soon, the three ships reach the open sea, the sky and sea painting the landscape in a calming mesh of blue. Suddenly, a blur of silver rushes past the ships and launches itself into the air. Gasps of wonder escape the ‘mons on every ship as they watch Ryūjin flying overhead towards the area of the sea. The eyes of all ‘mons on his ship are on Ryūjin, but Alaric could only stare across the railing of his ship at Bál standing on the deck of his ship, though his eyes did briefly shift over to the Keldeo bouncing around the Typhlosion, pelting him with questions that Alaric felt he’d also like to hear the answer to. The snake was pulled from his thoughts when a clawed hand slaps against his side. : Wonder where he’s heading off to. I would have thought that he’d be in the Dragon Palace about now. : Still, it’s good to see him flying around! It must mean he’s doing better! : Yes, I suppose so… : Now I suppose it’s time to go home and if Aether is doing better than it was before we left.